Interlude 2:  Sleep Deprivation
by pbw
Summary: Losing sleep can make you think and do funny things.


Several things: I own nothing. Nothing, nothing, nothing.

This is the second interlude that can be eventually inserted into the bigger story that I'm working on. For right now though, you can consider this during the training sessions at Westchester.

This remains unbetaed. Anyone want to step up to the plate and help a girl out would be greatly appreciated.

* * *

><p>Interlude #2: Sleep Deprivation<p>

Erik was never a man of high and varied emotions. He was always calm, cool and relatively collected. He never let such...feminine emotions get in his way of his goals. Well, goal. And his goal to murder Sebastian Shaw was still his top most priority - even if he was a little side tracked by a charming telepath, four unruly teens and one CIA agent. Moira, he could have done without - despite his initial strong reaction to her, but she seemed to be part of the deal, no matter what he said.

"She should not be here," Erik said tersely.

"Jealous, my friend?" Charles said with a twinkle in his eye.

"Most certainly not!" The subject had not been brooked since.

So, now here he was a few days after the whole book-bedroom incident and Erik was dealing with emotions that he was quite unfamiliar with. There were the highs: Charles and strangely enough the teenagers and the lows: Shaw and to a greatly lesser extent Moira (he found her more annoying than evils...per se).

_Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Kids Shaw Charles Kids Shaw Charles Kids Moira Shaw Charles Kids Moira Shaw Charles Kids Moira Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Kids Shaw Charles Kids Shaw Charles Kids Moira Shaw Charles Kids Moira Shaw Charles Kids Moira Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Shaw Charles Kids Shaw Charles Kids Shaw Charles Kids Moira Shaw Charles Kids Moira Shaw Charles Kids Moira Charles Charles Charles Charles_

Charles. Always Charles.

Erik ran a hand through his hair, mussing it even more. He hadn't slept much and it was starting to show.

"Are you alright, Erik?" Moira had asked earlier that day. She had stopped him on the gigantic stairwell that the front door opened onto.

"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth and shooting her a glare.

Moira tilted her head to the side, ignoring his tone and stare. "Spoken like someone with sleep deprivation," she said keeping the grin off her face.

"Leave me alone," he said and walked towards his bedroom.

"Oooo, someone's touchy," Moira said grinning.

The next person to approach him about it was Hank.

"You know Erik," Hank began, "sleep deprivation can adversely affect the brain and cognitive function. Not only that but it can affect how fast we heal. Naturally, this is to say that sleep deprivation can also affect memory, attention, and can have an effect on one's abilities...even their mutant abilities." Erik's eyes began to cross as he continued to listen to the young scientist. _Why am I doing this?_Hank did not even notice Erik leave until it was a good hour later. "Oh," was his only response. He shrugged and continued on his way back to his lab.

Alex was next to hassle Erik about his lack of sleep.

"You know, you're making all the metal in my room rattle," he said without preamble. The young man had grabbed an apple from the kitchen and was munching it contentedly. "It's keeping me up at night." Alex looked at the taller man expecting him to answer.

Instead, Erik just looked at the blond blankly, willing him to just _go away._

Alex grinned mischievously. "Or you know, you could just have the Professor put you to sleep." The utensils, pots and pans began rattling loudly in the drawers. Alex just shrugged and sauntered off, headless of the danger he knew he was in.

Naturally, Sean came next. _It's like they're two halves of the same person,_Erik thought. He pinched the bridge of his nose, knowing that the headache was not going to go away by sheer force of will.

"Do you need something to help you sleep," Sean asked. "I've got a stash upstairs..." he trailed off. "Damn, I shouldn't have said that," Sean said sheepishly. He stuck his hands in his pockets and went up stairs. _Might as well enjoy some of it now, before I give it to the Professor,_he thought. Sean, to his credit, did drop off the weed to the Professor and when asked, he said, "I was guilted into it by Erik." Charles raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing more, merely thanking him for his honesty.

Raven, naturally, came next. Erik was sitting outside, starting into the distance at a large satellite dish. _Does that really belong on Charles' property?_Raven sat down next to him. "You really should talk to Charles about this," she said gently. She stared off in the same direction as Erik. When he didn't respond she went to idly, "I don't know why Charles ever let them put up that big ugly satellite dish on our property, I'll never know."

"Are you sure you aren't the mind reader," Erik asked. It was the fourth day his acute insomnia and he was was feeling practically giddy from the restlessness.

Raven smiled and turned to him. "Really, Erik, you think you're so invulnerable. It wouldn't hurt to ask for help every _once in a while," _Raven said.

"A budding telepath and a mother hen," Erik said feeling his brain become mushy. Raven laughed and left him alone.

After a while, a long while, "I'm going to murder everyone in this house when the next person comes up to me regarding my sleeping habits," Erik ground out after Raven had left.

Which is of course, when Charles decided to make his opinion known.

"Walk with me," Charles asked after dinner the next night.

Erik grunted his consent. They walked out into the cooling night and through the numerous paths that were apparently on the Xavier property. They walked in amiable silence for a while before Erik lost his grip on his thoughts and began babbling.

"What isn't on your property, Charles? I mean really? There's a conservatory, a coal room, with lumps of real actual coal, I might add; a pool, a studio, probably filled with priceless paintings, a satellite in the distance, a hedge maze, a fencing studio, an attic filled with who knows much how stuff, all the bedrooms not being used, the three _other _kitchens I walked into, thinking it was the kitchen we used, the four dining rooms, the numerous libraries, nooks, corners, alcoves, not to mention the nuclear bunker - "

"Erik, please," Charles said putting a head to his head, "quiet your mind. Your thoughts are much too fast and too numerous." He sighed and turned to look at him. "Seriously, when was the last time you've slept? It's interfering with my sleeping patterns and you know it has to be bad when _I_can't sleep properly."

"Oh? Why is that?" Erik asked before he could reign in his question.

"Because I'm a heavy sleeper. I have to be lest everyone's thoughts and dreams keep me up all night," Charles said. He peered closely at his friend's face. "What is keeping you up at night, my friend?"

Erik could not properly see Charles' face in the moonlight. He tried to squash a feeling of panic rising in him. Several epiphanies occurred all at once for poor Erik: one was that he Erik Magnus Lensherr was falling in love with Charles Xavier; two was that he could no longer control what he was thinking - a particularly bad idea in the company of a telepath; and three was that he really, really, really wanted to kiss Charles Xavier.

Charles, naturally, sensed his rising panic and decided to take drastic measures. He put his forefinger and middle finger to his temple in an attempt to calm his through his gift. He sooner had the man done then when Erik tackled him to the ground in an attempt to keep his friend from seeing what he was thinking.

And that was when he realized that he was on top of said telepath. Erik could no longer keep the embarrassment off his face, but he was not in the most stable of mindsets where he would just get roll off his friend, make apologies and try to forget the incident.

But no, Erik was sleep deprived, confused and unintentionally projecting everything into Charles' mind.

Charles groaned from beneath him. "Erik," Charles began.

"I'm so sorry," Erik said, his eyes widening.

"Really, you could have saved yourself five nights of insomnia if you had just come and talk to me in the first place," the telepath said sitting up and gently setting aside the German. They both sat on the ground in the hedge maze (_How did we end up here?)_and stared at each other. Charles had a slight smile on his face and he was projecting warmth at the confused and bedeviled man.

"What?" Was all Erik really could say, he stared at Charles' lips.

The object of his sudden affection smiled and leaned closer to Erik. "What I am saying, my friend, that your feelings are reciprocated. I have not done this before, but I am sure that it can't be quite as difficult - "

He was stopped by Erik's lips. He was amazed at how sensuous Charles' lips were and how…_right_ kissing Charles was. He tugged Charles closer to him and wrapped his arms around him. He felt Charles smile and pulled back a bit, foreheads touching.

"Honestly, you need _sleep_," Charles said and stood up, pulling Erik with him. Erik wobbled a bit and Charles set a steadying hand on him.

"What do you propose" Erik said when he could recapture his breathe.

"Well, for you to sleep in my room, of course."

Erik was ever so glad for his insomnia then.

-End-


End file.
